This study aims to investigate the long- and short-term effects of renewable energy consumption, gross domestic product, trade openness and renewable energy adoption on the Human Development Index (HDI) in India. This study also examines the short-run role of research and development (R&D) in shaping human development outcomes.
This study uses the augmented autoregressive distributed lag (A-ARDL) model to estimate dynamic relationships and differentiate between short-term adjustments and long-term equilibrium effects using annual time series data over a 29-year period from 1990 to 2019.
The empirical findings of this study confirm the long-run cointegrating relationship among variables; gross domestic product emerges as the most influential determinants of HDI in long run followed by trade openness and renewable energy consumption; all exhibit positive and statistically significant effects. R&D expenditure, however, does not show a short-run significant effect on HDI, suggesting innovation investments requires longer gestation period to influence human development outcomes. The error correction term is negative and significant, confirming stable long-run convergence.
The findings of this study suggest that sustained economic growth, trade integration and structural shift toward renewable energy are essential for enhancing human development. Policymakers should adopt long-run strategies that integrate energy transition with macroeconomic and human development planning.
This study provides empirical evidence on the dynamic role of renewable energy and macroeconomic variables in shaping India’s human development trajectory, using an A-ARDL framework to capture asymmetric and temporal effects.
